Cedar City man sentenced to prison in sex abuse case

CEDAR CITY – A 5th District Court judge sentenced Robert Anthel Wiley to serve one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for two counts of sexually abusing a minor.

Wiley, 25, appealed for leniency and asked Judge Keith Barnes to place him on probation.

In ruling that prison is the appropriate sentence, Barnes cited that Wiley’s actions had a ripple effect that not only impacted the victim but also others connected to the case.

“It will be a miracle if this little girl gets through this and is able to live a normal life and not have to think about the abuse she’s been through,” Barnes said.

Wiley pleaded guilty to two second-degree felonies. He initially faced four first-degree felonies for aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Wiley was arrested in August and has since been housed in the Iron County Correctional Facility on $50,000 cash-only bail.

Defense attorney Jack Burns asked that his client be given credit for time served, but Barnes also denied that request.

“The court will ask that the Board (of Pardons) consider no credit for time served,” he said.

According to the charging documents, Wiley occupied a position of special trust with the victim and was in a position to exercise complete influence over the victim.

The documents state that the case stemmed from four different incidents where Wiley held the victim down and sexually assaulted her.

Burns said his client only pleaded guilty to touching the 13-year-old victim’s breast on the outside of her clothes on four occasions.

The victim reported the offenses to her mother, who told her to keep her mouth shut, authorities said in court documents.

Wiley’s wife, 35-year-old Dionna Marie Morton-Wiley, also is facing two first-degree felonies for rape of a child in connection to the same victim.

Charging documents show she allegedly solicited Terry Joseph Messer to have sex with the victim for payment of utilities in her home where he was staying at the time.

Morton-Wiley, the documents indicate, even bought condoms.

Morton-Wiley still is awaiting trial. Messer, 19, was convicted in February for three second-degree felonies for sex abuse of a child and sentenced to 1 to 15 years on each count. He initially was charged with four counts of a first-degree felony rape of a child.

Wiley also was sentenced Tuesday to up to 5 years in another case where he was found guilty for distribution of a controlled substance, both second-degree felonies.

He originally was charged for three counts of distribution of a controlled substance and later for possession of a firearm but a restricted person.

Wiley was convicted in 2012 for felony burglary charges.

Cindy Baldwin, director of the Canyon Creek Women’s Crisis Center, said people who are victims of rape, sexual assault or domestic violence can call one of the 24-hour crisis lines sponsored by the crisis center.